Solace
by Vynx The Werewolf
Summary: Summary inside. Rating might change.
1. Chapter 1

Summary: Megan Ryan, an archaeologist, has just returned home from a dig to find that she has a new neighbor in the apartment across from her. In an attempt to get to know the seemingly secretive and silent man, she finds that things are never what they appear. Will have action, adventure, science, and maybe some romance.

* * *

Life, for me, was monotanous. I was an archeology graduate but it seemed that anything to be found had been found. I was hoping for a life much like it was in the Indiana Jones movies (though I'm fully aware of the fact that things like that don't happen), with adventure at every turn and something there to keep protected. But what I ended up finding was only dirt and small things of little consiquence, though large in their worth of understanding previous times. And then something happened to change my life forever, an adventure for all times, when he walked into my life.

Hmm, I apologize for I'm getting ahead of myself.

My name is Megan, Megan Ryan. Yes one of my nickname's is Meg just like the actress. No, there is no relation.. I think. That, though, is beside the point. I'm in my 20's and I live alone. No boyfriend, no fiance, no husband. I am, as my family says, 'To dedicated to my work for a social life of any kind. Men would run, screaming, at the prospect of meeting me.'

... Huh. Guess thats why I don't involve myself in my family eithor.

I digress though; my two friends, of the names Zach and Sissy (short for Elizabeth), would call, text, or e-mail me once in a while; Sissy taking care of my cat while I was gone on a dig. My life was work and looking for more work. So, again, life was monotonous. Then the day arrived that sent my mind reeling and it had begun just as any other day had.

"Ms. Ryan, your mail." The woman behind the counter says, handing me a rather large and thick stack of envelopes held together with an equally large rubber band. I smile halfheartedly as I take them, nodding a thanks and turning around to exit the post office. I had only hoped that the mail would have been lost, somewhere in the recesses of the building, as had happened on numerous occasions. But, alas, not this time. No, they had made sure my things would remain well in sight. My guess would be that they had gotten in trouble one to many times by the boss to do so.

Opening the door allowed the cold December air of Wyoming to twist and swirl around me as I step onto the snow covered concrete. Living up north in the United State provided some alleviations, most to allergies I didn't have, but I still prefered the deserts of Egypt, the rocky cliffs of Saudi Arabia, and the bite of salty air of the coast of Italy. But I had to leave those places once in a blue moon and I was, still mostly, unsure of the reason I had chosen a place that snowed..

No, wait, his name was Kurt. Kurt something-or-other. I had come here to be with him only to find that he was cheating, though come to realize I was the one he had been cheating with and not on. But I can't nessesarily say that it broke my heart. I knew he wasn't really into me, he made it seem like it was nothing but a fling. Don't exactly know what happened to him after that; but, again, I digress.

I stood a moment, waiting for the wind to die down enough that my long (and direly in need of a cut) hair would settle to where I could place it back behind my ears. The snow clung to my jacket and gloves both of which did a poor job of keeping me warm. I hurry to my rather worn down Plymouth Breeze and start it, kicking the heater to full blast.

* * *

'Damn that old woman for taking so long to get four frigging stamps.' I think hotly, throwing the stick into reverse and backing out of the parking spot I had been in. I had to get back to the apartment and start on the report on any finds we had made in a remote corner of India to the counsulate. I was almost wishing for the rainforest we had had to go through, it had been like a nice autumn day in Texas compaired to this place. I wind my way through streets to get to the complex I lived in. I pull into the 'garage' and park, taking any- and every-thing of value out of my car.

I walk up to the doors and pull but neithor budge. I groan, pounding on the glass at the man sitting at the counter watching some show in a language I didn't know. He looks up and frowns, hitting a button on the remote and stands. "Come on Mr. Sava, its cold out here!" I say, pulling on the doors for emphasis. He sighs when he reaches the doors and unlocks them, grumbling in Russian, and goes to return to his show. As I head to the less than reliable elevator doors, he stops me.

"Ms. Ryan, you have neighbor who is new to building. He is in 7D." I look at him for a moment. 7D. That was right infront of my place.

"Ok, I'll make sure to stop by then." I respond once more about to press the up button.

"No. He not want to be disturbed." I refrain from growling, instead I jab the button and wait for the light to show it had arrived. "Oh, elevator broken."

"Thanks Mr. Sava." I say, turning to lug my things up the stairs instead. I make is up to the seventh flight after having to dodge Mrs. Zeger, an old Dutch woman who has the oddest obsession to do with tiny figurines and always smells like cat urine, and Mrs. White, an American who also has a strange obsession but with what I'm still not sure of, and attempt to open my door whilst not dropping my things. Unfortunately, I was not successful and dropped my keys.

"Allow me." A deep and distinctly male voice says, picking up the keys and unlocking the door with the right one. I look over at him and find a gorgeous man with dark hair covering half of his face and two steel gray eyes watching me, staring down atleast by a foot.

"Uh.. Th-thank you, ver-very much."

Good god, could the ground open up and swallow me now please?

He smiles slightly, holding my door open for me. I slip in under his arm, of which didn't take much ducking, and quickly set my things on my more or less threadbare couch. I turn around toinvite him in and find my door closed with no devilishly handsome man waiting.

"Meow?" I look down at the ground and find my bombay waiting and rubbing against my legs. I sigh and pick her up, scratching under her chin.

"Looks like its just you and me Bast." I tell her and she meow's again.

* * *

"Mr. Sava, the water heater is broken again. I thought you had fixed it." I say, rounding the counter days after my encounter with the mysterious man. I hadn't thought much about it, putting it off to my sleep deprived and jet lagged mind. I hadn't seen this new neighbor which I had found strange. Everyone in this building is highly welcoming to anyone new, though they did enjoy getting into one's buisness just as highly, but none had seen or met him besides Mr. Sava.

"Winter froze pipes. Plumber coming next week." Mr. Sava responds with his thick accent and less broken english. I sigh as I pull my beanie further down on my newly cut hair. I had trimmed the ends which reached just past my rear end. I had looked down when I opened the door, wanting to avoid being bombarded with snow in my face, but instead I run into a rather hard wall and therefore bounce off of it, straight into the now closed glass doors. My back hits the handles and the wind gets knocked out of me. I begin to slid to the ground when strong hands stop me, helping to balance me.

"Breathe slowly in and out." I look up and see the same man from a few days ago, his gray eyes looking slightly worried. I do as he says and after a few breaths I gain back the air I had lost. "I appoligize for running into you, I wasn't looking."

I almost wanted to smile. "No, no, it was my fault. I wasn't looking as well." His lips twitch, as if he was wanting to smile, but he face remains neutral. I wait a second. "Um, may I ask what you're name is?"

He pauses, blinking once slowly. "..Kuchiki. Byakuya Kuchiki."

I smile, dusting off some snow that had accumulated on my shoulders. "My name is Megan Ryan." He nods and walks past me to the doors. I turn around quickly and blurt out, "Would you like to join me for dinner tonight?"

He stops, right hand on the handle, and turns back around to face me. His eyes seemed to smolder as he looked at me and I begin to feel like a fool, my face heating up. "Yes. What time?"

I almost passed out from the answer. "How does 7 sound?" He nods in the positive and enters the building. I nearly jumped up and down but refrained from doing so, instead I look down at my watch and take off to my car. 'Damn it, gunna be late for work!'

"Bast, I'm home sweety." I say loudly, locking the door after I enter. She comes running into the small hall mewling and rubbing affectionately. I look at my watch and find that it was 5:30. 'Ok Megan. You have an hour and a half. But shower first.' I nod to myself and set my things down on the couch, telling myself to pick them up when I had gotten out.

15 minutes later I found myself wrapped in a towel, staring at my reflection in a mirror. My long, almost black hair was also wrapped, and I turn sideways and huff. I knew I was skinny but I had an issue with my body image, guess it came from growing up with three sisters who were all gorgeous. I had always though of myself as a plain jane, nothing ever seemed to stand out to me. I smile, noticing my blue-green eyes lighting up, as I remember my youth and the rebelousness I had displayed, and look down at my right ankle, seeing the sun and moon tattoo I had received on my 18th birthday. They were only shaded and the moon hung from the inside of the sun to below it, curving gently and almost touching the flames that were coming from the sun.

I shake myself out of the revere and head to the closet, pulling out different outfits before finding the one I was wanting. It was a v-necked winter dress I had bought last year, in hope of finding someone. It was black and gray stripped with pockets in the front with brown buttons, and reached to my knees. The neck was lined with black and came down far enough that I had to wear something under it. I head to my dresser and pull out a gray spagetti strap shirt that matched the gray of the dress. I remove the towel and dress, worrying over shoes later. I head into the kitchen and pet Bast along the way, also putting my things up as well, who was resting at the head of the matching chair to my couch. I look around the cabinets and the fridge, finding all the things needed to make nearly homemade spagetti and meatballs.

Finishing put me to be just ahead of schedule and I was at a loss for what to do next. I couldn't clean, I wasn't here long enough during the day for anything to get dirty. Bast's litter box was one of the electric kind that cleaned the litter after she used it. I look down at my feet and remember that I wasnt wearing any shoes. I head back to my room and find some simple black flats and put them on. Heading back to the living room, I look around for something to do and notice the mail I had gotten earlier that day sitting on the rather worn coffee table. 'Eh, might as well.' I sit down, crossing my ankles, and lift a package up.

I blink as I read where it had come from. " Karakura, Japan?"

I was just about to open it when the doorbell rings and I forget about it, setting it back down on the couch. I walk to the front door and look through the peephole to see Byakuya standing there in a deep blue button down shirt with the top button undone and black slacks. I could feel my face begining to heat up as I unlock the door and open it to let him in. He somewhat smiles at me, holding out a bottle of red wine, and I usher him in whilst taking the bottle.

"Would you like some of the wine now or something else until dinner?" I ask as I head into the kitchen. Byakuya stands in the living room, eyeing Bast as she lazes about at the top of the chair. I stop, watching his reaction time to realize what I had asked.

"Now would be fine." I nod slowly and just as slowly finish my trek to the kitchen to open the bottle.

"She doesn't bite. She's just a loveable furball who likes to curl up with you when you sit on the couch or chair." I say, looking in the drawer for the cork screw. Byakuya remains standing despite what I had said. I get the bottle open and pour a delicate amount into two glasses before heading back into the livingroom. As I hand him one of the glasses I ask, "you don't like cats?"

As he takes the glass from me he shakes his head in the negative. "A.. friend has one almost like that."

"Oh. Well Bast is real sweet. Not to mention she's declawed so she can't scratch you, as if she had ever done so. She's weird that away." I say with a small smile and take a sip of wine. It was hearty and had a slight fruity taste to it. I saver the flavor of it, knowing it had to have been expensive. I walk over to Bast and lightly scratch her head causing her to start purring like crazy. I smile down at her then look over to Byakuya. 'Uh-oh. Now what do I say to him?'

But he saves me the humiliation of trying to figure out what to talk about now. "How long have you lived here?"

"About 4 years. I'm not home often, maybe for a few months of the year at most. When did you move in?"

He had begun to look around the livingroom but stops and settles his gaze on me as I sit down in the chair, Bast climbing down to curl up in my lap and sleep. "I moved in a month and a half ago. There was another girl coming in and out of here; brown hair, slightly tal-"

"That would have been my friend Sissy. She was coming to feed and play with Bast while I was gone. I can sometimes take her with me but then there are times when I can't."

He nods. "What do you do for a living?"

"I look at rocks, old pottery, ruins. I have a degree in Archaeology so I get to go around the world for my work. I focus mainly on Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and Italy, but I've recently worked on digs in Japan and India. What kind of work do you do Byakuya?" I ask, taking another sip of wine. I notice he hadn't drank any of his.

He takes a breath before answering. "I deal with antiquities."

I take a longer sip of wine as I nod, looking off to the side. The answer was too curt and simple to me to be true. That and he did _**not**_ look like any of the antique dealers in the museums or while I was on a dig. Something about him oozed out confidence and a little danger. He was too self-assurant to me. "Well, you can sit on the couch if you like or at the table. But if you're getting hungry we can go ahead and eat."

He takes a drink of wine..

And sits down on the couch.

In my mind I was dancing. Bet you can guess how many guys have come over for dinner.. Yep. Not that many. More like zero. I set my glass down on the coffee table and he does the same. I clear my throat as I fold my hands around Bast who lays her head on my palms. "Well now, do you have any other questions for me?"

He does the almost smile again. I watch him a little more closely as he looks to the windows of the living room, almost as if he was looking or waiting for something. He picks his drink up and takes another sip of wine and sets it back down. "Have you found anything interesting while on a 'dig'?"

I smile. "Historically, yes. Many things. Bones, pottery, ruins, preserved pieces of fabric, documents, and jewelery." I answer. "But booby traps, dangerous cliffs into tall jaggaded rock, magic, and all around danger; no." I pet Bast lightly, almost feeling like a villian with my short, mostly undescriptive answers.

"Documents about what?"

I blink. He was interested in the documents. "You'll have to clarrify, Japan or India?" I ask unsure of his intentions now.

"Japan. Where at did you find them?" He takes a sip of wine and sets the glass back down nonchalantly.

"Uh, well so far we believe that they are nothing but stories that were unpublished. And we found them outside of a town called Karakura I think." I fight not to look down at the package I had recieved, remembering the address.

"Stories? Do you know what of?" He asks and I down what little wine was left in my glass.

"Um, I think it was about some beings called Shinigumi and a place called Soul Society. The documents are half missing so we're unsure of what they are acually talking about. I don't really know because I don't deal with documents, I deal with ruins and bones."

He nods, almost opening his mouth to speak when hard heavy banging echos through the hall causing me to jump and him to turn to face my front door. His lips set themselves into a thin grim line as he begins to get up but I beat him to it, heading to the door to see who it was. "Don't open the door." He commands.

I've never been very good at taking orders, now especially since I lived by myself. So I didn't listen to him and opened the door anyways and freeze, staring openly at the man across the hall trying to break down Byakuya's door. He had blue hair that didn't seem to be dyed and was exceedingly tall. But what can I say, I'm only 5' 5" and get toppled by junior high kids. He was wearing what looked to be half a white shirt with the sleeves rolled up to show the black undernieth, white hakama's, black socks, and straw sandles. When he heard my door open, he turns and sets his hard blue eyes on me. Under his eyes were strange greenish-blue thick streaks and on the right side of his jaw was half a set of upper and lower mandables that appeared to belong to a large, preditory cat of some kind.

He smiles at me in my frozen shock.

* * *

This is the first time I've written for Bleach. Please review! All types are accepted and flames will be read but used to roast s'mores with my nephew.

P.S.: This story was written without the use of a beta.


	2. Chapter 2

"Move!" I hear Byakuya yell and then feel myself get thrown back, the door slamming in the process. I was about to get up when Byakuya's body is draped over me and the door seems to implode. I was too shocked to scream and was hauled up off of the ground and to the large windows that rested behind my couch. As we pass the chair in which I had previously occupied, I scoop up the package I had received and hold it against myself. The floor was littered with debris from the door and adjoining frame and wall. I glance behind and see the man again, grinning at us, and feel my heart leap into my throat as I look forward again just as Byakuya throws open the window. He pulls me close to him as the blue haired man starts to laugh.

"Well, well, well. If it isn't a _Shinigami Taicho_. Byakuya wasn't it?" I hear him say almost quietly before I am whisked out the window and onto the frozen fire escape.

'_Oh no! Bast!_' I think and begin to fight against Byakuya in an attempt to get back inside. "Bast! Bast!"

"You'll kill yourself for a _cat_!" He hisses under his breath and reaches just inside to grab her by the scruff of the neck. He thrusts her into my arms and I move with him, my body shivering from the cold. I go down the fire escape as quickly as I could, Byakuya pushing me gently but urgently. We make it down 3 flights when a white blur passes us on the outside and then was in front of us. I gasp; my breath a puff of smoke in the air, and Byakuya grumbles something under his breath in a language I couldn't understand. The blue haired man was there in front of us. My mind reeled. We'd left him in the apartment.

"You can't run _Taicho_." He says with a sneer. I try to figure out where I had heard that word before when Byakuya answers.

"_Arrancar_...Tch."

Hey, I never said it was an intelligent response. Well it wasn't an intelligent response to me.

I look between the two, Bast hissing and growling in my arms, and feel myself confused beyond any means. I recognized two words but was unable to place their origin. Byakuya pushed me behind himself and then stands there as if I was nothing but an ignored fly on the wall, a very irritated and ignored fly. I look past his arm to the man and stare, trying to judge if this was a hallucination or one **very** strange dream brought on by a third a glass of very tasty wine. Byakuya seemed to know the man or was at least acquainted with him in some way.

"_Arrancar_ what are your kind doing here?" Byakuya questions and the man, well I guess I'll name him Arrancar seeing as that is the only name given to me for him, smiles widely reminding me of a shark. I begin to start shaking harder from the cold, Bast's hissing a background noise, waiting for Arrancar's response.

"_Shinigami_, I have no reason to explain anything to you _bastardo_."

'Ooh, _bastardo_! That means bastard! Thank you boredom when holding an English to Spanish dictionary.' I think, with holding my glee at recognising a word. I follow Arrancar with my eyes, scooting as close to Byakuya as I could in an attempt to keep warm. I could feel the package and Bast pressing tightly to chest.

"You're not supposed to be here _Arrancar_. It's the rules." Byakuya says his body forcing himself not to shiver. Arrancar smirks his eyes roaming over to me and his smile widens. Byakuya notices and steps over to cover me from view. "She's not apart of this, so leave her alone."

"I dunno _Shinigami_. The human's quite.. Attractive."

'Uhh... What. The. Hell?' I think, no longer able to see what his facial expression gave away. Though, I'm not sure I would want to at this moment.

"Leave now. You're message was recieved." Byakuya says, turning around and my face was eye level with the single undone button. Gently he pushes me back up the stairs to my open window. Stepping through, I surveyed the damage; mentally calculating the cost of damages and the possible law suit to be thrown at me. I set Bast on the top of the recliner and the package in the seat before leaning down to pick up the doornob, turning it this way and that.

"Well, this is going to suck." I say turning to face the window as Byakuya steps in, holding up the nob loosely for him to see. I begin to chuckle as I think about what had happened as a whole, my logical mind milling over details. "This is the most interesting first date, meeting, or whatever I believe I've ever had." I laugh heartily afterwards, dropping the nob to the floor. It clangs loudly and rolls, the bit of wood still stuck to it thunking dully against my hardwood flooring. Byakuya looks at the carnage of what used to cover the opening to my home.

"I'll pay for the damage done by Grimmjow." I stop, turning back to face him and away from the kitchen to turn off the stove. My eyes widen as what he says sinks in.

"No, no, no no no. It's not you-"

"Ultimately, it is my fault that your home was as damaged as it is." He says, shooting me a smoldering 'you will not argue with me' look that had the words log jamming in my throat. Swallowing thickly, I nod in acceptance.

"Wait, who's Grim Jow?"

Byakuya chuckles low. "Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez. Unfortunately, he enjoys making an entrance." I cock my head to the left, slightly tilting the world.

"You're kidding?" At his unchanged facial characteristics I begin to laugh loudly, doubling over and holding onto to my sides as they began to ache. "His name is really _Grimmjow_? Oh man, but his parents must have been cruel!" I gasp out between giggles. Eventually I ended up on my rear, head between my knees and taking large gasping breaths. When I regain some control over myself I look up to see that Byakuya was giving me that smoldering look again, though this one held some irritation in it. I blink quickly, sobering up, and clamber back to my feet dusting myself off in the process. I hear a crackle of paper and suddenly the package was in front of me. I take it looking at Byakuya surprised. I hadn't even heard him move other than the paper. I undo one side of the box and out falls the paper's I had found almost a year ago.

My eyes widen as I realize what I was holding in my hands. Not only where the documents here but notes as well, in Japanese and English thought the english translation was half finished. They had suspicious stains on them and I didn't want to think to much about what they were. Instead I focus on what the english was saying. I skim quickly, as I'm used to doing when helping others, and my breathe hitches forcefully in my throat. "W-what?"

* * *

Oh, yes. Thank you to SpaceisforStars for correcting me on my little mistake. It shall be rectified! lol. Ja Ne!


	3. Chapter 3

Holy crap, two chapters in one day. I'm on a roll baby!

* * *

"What's wrong?" Byakuya asks, walking back over to me and taking the notes I had been reading. I remain frozen, mind reeling over the last sentence I read which was written in Ancient Greek.

"You are in danger... Oh shit." I think my body frozen and I hear paper being flipped back and forth. I look over to Byakuya and see him flipping the last page back and forth. He notices me looking at him and gives me a rather pointed look. He holds up the paper for me to see.

"What does that mean? What language is it in?" He questions and I open my mouth to speak but nothing comes out. Quickly I close it and focus on the page, noticing another line I hadn't seen that was also in Ancient Greek. My eyes widen more and I grab the box and turn it upside down. Out falls a little box about the size of ring box and I open it to find a necklace with a woman holding up a white jewel on a silver chain. I look up at Byakuya and he looks at me then the necklace then back to me.

".. What is that?"

"I don't know... All the letter says is to keep it with me and keep it safe." I look back down at it and and slip it over my head. It felt heavy, as if I was carrying the weight of the world on my neck. "It kind of looks like a woman holding up the moon." As soon as the words left my mouth a jolt travels through me, starting at my finger tips and back of the neck. I gasp and drop the pendant.

When it makes contact with the skin of my chest, my sight changes from my apartment to some where else. I see an ancient battle taking place. On one side there were people dressed in black ancient Japanese clothing and others dressed the same but opposite in white. They held swords and were yelling things and stuff was being blasted from finger tips, hands, and other appendages. On the other side there was creatures that were howling and screaming. I was standing in the middle of the battle and watched the carnage taking place around me. Suddenly I was kneeling on the ground being supported by Byakuya who was calling my name. I was panting and begin to look around wildly, scared of myself.

"What- what did I do?" I ask him as I finally lock my eyes onto his steel gray ones. I notice his widen slightly.

"You dropped the charm and then collapsed. Then you began to speak some weird language."

"Can you repeat anything I said?" I question as he helps me stand. He shakes his head in the negative.

"No, you were speaking to fast. The words just seemed like jumbled jibberish." He responds still holding onto my shoulders which I was greatful for. My legs didn't feel as if they could support me at the moment. He helps me over to the couch and gently lowers me down. That short distance winded me, I was in disbelief.

"OH NO!" I speak loudly and attempt to get off the couch only to fall back down in to it. Byakuya looks at me slightly worried. "The sauce is still on!" He chuckles and goes into the kitchen. I hear a click and sigh. Quietly he comes back in with two full plates of spaghetti and meatballs and the wine.

"It would be a waste for the food you've cooked to be uneaten." He says and I giggle, taking the plate when he hands it to me. He refills our glasses and sets mine closer to me on the coffee table.

* * *

"Ms. Ryan, what was noise last night?" Mr. Sava questions me as I exit the elevator. I was still getting winded and felt it would be safer for me to take the not-so-reliable elevator than the stairs. I look at him, feigning ignorance.

"What noise?" I question. When I had awoken this morning the front door and wall was fixed, as if nothing had ever happened. But I knew it had. I resist the urge to play with the pendant around my neck. Best to not draw attention to it at the moment.

"Man in 6-B say he heard 'plosion." I blink innocently.

"He probably had his tv on and fell asleep." I answer just as Byakuya comes down the last few steps. He pauses, looking between Mr. Sava and I. I begin to head out and call over my shoulder, "Please don't lock the front doors again Mr. Sava."

By the time I mad it to my car I had to pause, sucking in deep breaths, feeling like I had ran a marathon. Byakuya was beside me, trying to hold in his look of concern. I unlock the door and slid in, turning on the car. I set my bag in the back and reach over to unlock the passenger door. I lean out mine and give him a slight glare.

"Get in. You're going to expain everything to me, begining with why you're here." I say and he nods in the positive and he was suddenly in the car. I ignore my surprise and shut my door. I begin driving in silence. I was willing to wait for him to start, but my patience was wearing thin suddenly. I wanted to know what was going on!

"I am not human."

The sentence nearly caused me to rear end the large SUV infront of me. I could feel my eyes widening. "Not.. human. Explain."

"I cannot." I wanted to start screaming.

"Why?"

"It is none of your concern."

"BULLSHIT! If my home, feline, and person are going to be in danger of random people _**blowing up**_ my things, then I have every and all right to know. Now, **tell me.**" I say, glancing at him from the corner of my eye. He almost seemed.. amused. I felt my cheeks heat up. I sigh, deflated from my anger; I knew that I didn't take very well to other's laughing at me. 'He must think I'm just some stupid little girl throwing a tantrum. But I have to know, so I can protect myself.' I think, focusing on the road and other drivers.

"..I am a _Shinigami_."

"Shinigami. What's a Shinigami?"

"I believe Americans call us 'Grim Reapers'." I stomp on the brake at a red light by accident. My mind filled with images of skeletal figures robed in black, reaching for mortals with boney fingers. I surpress a shiver. It wasn't that I feared skeletons in robes, hell, I worked with withered corpses all the time. I was afraid of my own mortality.

"Have you come to end someone's existence?" I whisper but feel like I've shouted. Suddenly Byakuya bursts out laughing and I gaze at him, drawn into his features that had seemed to be so closely guarded. He was definately handsome and for the life of me, of course I realized the pun, I couldn't think of a reason to be angry that his humor was because of me. The cars behind me honk and I gun it, smoothly shifting into second then third gear.

"Where are we heading?" Byakuya asks after gaining his composure back.

"My work. There's a linguist there that can finish translating the notes. Unfortunately Japanese isn't a language I know. That mistake will be rectified soon though." I mummble the last part to myself, pulling into my assigned spot. I reach behind his seat to grab my bag when Byakuya gently takes hold of my face. He gazes into my eyes for a moment, my body having locked into place when he touched me, and lets loose a barely heard sigh.

"What color are your eyes?"

"Wha-? Blue-green, why?"

"Look." He points to the rearview mirror and my eyes flick to it then widen. Silver, my eyes were.. silver. Suddenly it appears as if the silver began to drain out of my eyes, being replaced by what the normal was for me. Today, green was appearing to win out over blue. I felt a little scared that they had changed to a color that wasn't normal. "They changed when you became scared."

I ignore his remark and move to get out of the vehicle. "Come on."

"You are aware that I could translate for you." Byakuya says, stepping out of the car and shutting the door which pops open.

"Slam it." He does and it remains shut. "Yes but I have a feeling you wouldn't tell me everything. Besides, I hardly get to visit Michael."

* * *

"Megan, darling, how wonderful that you've come to your senses!" I smile widely and feign being breathless.

"Oh Michael, your charm hath finally taken over mine heart. It is forever thou's." I giggle when I hear what sounds like teeth being ground together. "Ok Michael, enough goofing." I hold out the notes, both in English and Japanese. "I need you to finish translating this for me. Ignore the Greek, the person was just messin with me." Michael takes them and raises one of his blonde eyebrows at me. "Yea, not really funny but the person doesn't have a very good sense of humor. Can you do it by lunch?"

"For you, love, the world I would hand you."

I smile. "World, no; notes, yes."

* * *

I step into my lab, pulling on my coat and Byakuya stands awkwardly in front of the closed door. As I pull my hair up into a messy though tight bun, I look at him. "Sit in a chair, don't touch anything. No one comes here and I'm not going to need help. If, in the off chance I require some, put gloves on and do only what I tell you to do." I say my eyes following him as he sits at my desk and I pull on latex gloves. I walk over to the table and remove the cloth carefully, folding it up and setting to the side. I pull a rollie chair up and sit, emersing myself in my work. Before I know it I hear someone clear their throat.

"Megan, I'm finished." I look up and see Michael. He, of course, was taller than me with short blonde hair and bright baby blue eyes. His skin was tan and he was toned. I smile at him, wheeling around the table towards him. His eyes flick to Byakuya and I follow him and almost laugh. He had fallen asleep, his head being propped up on his fist and his steely gray eyes closed. "Here. The notes themselves weren't finished, like whatever he was reading was incomplete."

I furrow my brows, looking over what Michael had finished writing. I sigh and smile up at him. "Thank you, Michael. It's fine though. I was expecting as much."

Michael's eyes go back to Byakuya. "Is he your boyfriend?"

"Him?" I choke out. I look back at Byakuya and study him. _Boyfriend for me, no. Possibly a very good friend._ Is what my heart was telling me. I smile and shake my head no. "He's just a friend."

Michael smiles back at me. "Good, 'cause to tell you the truth Megsie, he kinda creeps me out."

'You have no idea.'

"You fell asleep. And you snore. Loudly." I say without looking up, hours later, smiling. I could feel Byakuya glaring at me.

"Did your friend translate them?"

I didn't have to ask what them was. "Yes." I write down a translation on a Greek artifac from Athens. I look up at him, my head still down. "The story tells of Shinigami, Arrancar, and some creatures known as The Black. It was the last fight, Shinigami and Arrancar had heavy casualties while The Black had very little. It tells of a single soul, a human one, that was bestowed powers by the moon to end the war. I'm afraid, though, that the story was not completed or the final pages destroyed. Of which, I'm not sure. I found those and that was it, all pages accounted for."

Byakuya narrows his eyes. "Does it tell how the soul was given the powers?" I shake my head no and look at the clock.

"Come one. It's nearly 6. Time to go home." I say pulling off the gloves with a snap.


	4. Chapter 4

I close the door to my apartment, dropping my bag by the frame and sigh leaning against the door. I look skyward, my hand snaking up to the pendant and fiddling with it. I hear soft thumping and look to the floor and see Bast sitting in front of me, head cocked to one side, waiting. She meows loudly, once, and turns around to head back to her perch on top of the recliner. I roll my eyes and follow her but pause as I notice three new people in my living room. "Uh, how did you get in?"

All three freeze up, slowly turning around to face me. Of the three, only one was female. She had dark hair and dark blue eyes. She was shorter than me, if only by a head. One of the men had orange hair and hard eyes. He was tall, like Byakuya, his hair spiking out in all directions. The other was even taller than Orange, maybe taller than Byakuya. His hair was a deep red color and pulled up, spiking out like a pineapple's leaves. He had a white towel/rag thingy tied around his head, but it didn't really cover the tattoos I could see. That and they were on one **very** nice chest. What can I say; I'm a sucker for tattoos.

"Y-you can see us?" Carrot top asks his eyes slightly wide. I blink.

"Uh, duh?" I respond, cocking my hip to the right and place my hand on it. "Come on, answer my question. How did you get in? I know my door was locked."

Red points to the stairwell. Shit, I had been avoiding that place like the plague ever since Grimmjow busted my door. I sigh.

"You must have very high spiritual pressure to be able to see us, Human." The girl says, giving me a hard stare that somehow reminded me of Byakuya. Suddenly I take notice of what they're wearing. Black Japanese hakama's and top.

"Please tell me you three aren't _Shinigami_." I say and again, the three seem to freeze up. "Ah hell. Don't break anything. Please, just don't break anything. With having had that Grimmjow guy bust my door, I really don't want anything else destroyed." All three give me a surprised look when I mentioned the blue haired wonder, as I now like to refer to him.

"You've met Grimmjow and lived?" Carrot top questions. I nod in an 'are-you-mental' manner.

"Yeah, I think though it was only 'cause Byakuya was there."

"You know where Kuchiki-_taicho_ is?" Red asks me, jumping over my couch and landing nimbly, and silently, on the floor. He takes only a few steps closer and then he was in front of me, towering, and I was forced to look up at him.

"... Why should I tell you?" I respond, not afraid just annoyed. People who used their height to intimidate annoyed me. Ooh, now that I think about it, I have a lot of pet peeves. Mentally I shake myself out of my revere.

"Because."

..Seriously? Can we say, two year old's remark? Yea, so can I.

I burst out laughing in his face. He gives me an annoyed look and seems as though he doesn't exactly know what to do. I take a few steps back so that I could lean over to clutch my sides without being face deep in abs. When my laughing fit subsides, the other two were flanking Red on either side. Carrot top had a slight smile on his face, which looked like he was trying to fight. Red was, well, red in the face. The girl, she seemed kinda indifferent on the whole thing.

"Where is _Nii-sama_?" She questions me, giving me the hard stare again. I blink several times. I swear she is trying to will it to get me to talk. I just grin, thinking of a line from some movie.

"I'll never tell.." I sing-song in response. Now, she was downright glaring evilly at me. My grin just widens then disappears when knocking is heard. I turn around, now ignoring the three, and look through the peep hole. No more just opening the door. Byakuya stood there, hands dangling at his sides, so I open the door; moving with it so he could enter and maybe tell me who the three were.

When his eyes land on Carrot top, Red, and the Evil Midget; he stands with his back a little taller. "Rukia, Abarai-_fuku-taicho_, Kurosaki. What are you doing here?"

'Well that answers.. Well, really nothing but names. One name, I think the other two were last names. And what the hell is a fuku-taicho?' Instead of voicing the thoughts, I decide to be a fly on the wall. Quietly I shut the door and slide over to be behind Byakuya and listen.

"The human girl is behind you." I give Red, err, Abarai a flat look.

"My apartment."

"Private conversation." Abarai retorts. I step out from behind Byakuya.

"Not in my home. If stuff is going to be blown up, destroyed, or an all-around cataclysm is going to happen; damn well better know I'm going to be in on the conversation._ Ananas_." I grin as he looks dumbfound on the last word.

"What did you call me?"

"_Ananas_, and I think it fits." I answer and then feel Byakuya's hand on my right shoulder. He begins to steer me towards the kitchen.

"Perhaps we can discuss this over dinner?"

I sigh. "Fine, but only cause you asked."

"What is this?" I look at _ananas_ who was looking at the Potato Soup like it was poison or something. I sigh.

"It's soup _ananas_, with potatoes, Velveeta, pet milk, butter, onions, and basil flakes.. Or parsley flakes. I dunno. Eat it." I respond, shoving a spoonful in my mouth. Thank goddess I had the stuff to make it or else it would have been take out. And take out here, not exactly the best. Tentatively, he puts the spoon in his mouth, chews, and swallows; eyes growing wide before shoveling it in like a mad man. I giggle, watching Evil Midget and Carrot Top carefully take a bite then eat but at a much calmer and polite rate. _Ananas_ holds his bowl out to me, as if he was expecting me to get him more. "Get it yourself _Ananas_." I say, taking another bite. Deflated, he gets up and walks into the kitchen.

"_Nii-sama_, I don't thinks it's wise to speak of this in front of the girl."

"What, The Black? I already know about it." I say, giving Midget a hard look. Her eyes widen in surprise. Carefully I set down my bowl and hold up the necklace. "I saw a fight, because of this, between The Black and a united front of _Shinigami_ and _Arrancar_. Unfortunately I wasn't able to see the ending of the fight."

"Well if she knows then.. Records of the ending were lost. Hell, records of any fighting were lost." I look to the doorway of the kitchen to see _Ananas_ leaning on the corner and eating. "That was, until you found them I'm guessing."

I nod. "I didn't know what they were. I thought they were tax papers from the _Nara_ era, year _Tenpyo_. Now I know otherwise." I drop the pendant and it thumps against my chest. I lean over and pick up my bowl to continue eating. Carrot top gives me a disbelieving look.

"You don't know Japanese yet you can pronounce the names of era's and year's without difficulty."

I smile, swallowing the bite I had just taken. "After Egyptian, Japanese pronunciation is kind of easy. Speaking, totally different story." I pause looking at him. I was compelled to give him a better nickname. "Oh, I know! _Arancia_."

Carrot Top blinks several times, his cheeks turning a slight pink color. _Ananas_ returns to his seat with a pout. "Why does his sound cooler?"

"What do they even mean?" _Arancia_ asks and I grin.

"_Ananas_ is pineapple. _Arancia_ is orange." Both boys give me rather withered looks.

"Better than strawberry I guess.." I blink.

"People call you strawberry?"

"My name is Kurosaki Ichigo." He says as if that explained everything.

"Ok and how do they get strawberry?"

".. Never mind."

"Why did you call me Pineapple?" _Ananas_ asks, having waited for Ichigo and mine's conversation to end. My eyes go to him and then to his hair. I giggle.

"Because your hair reminds me of one." I answer, taking another bite and realizing my soup was cold. I slightly shrug to myself and continue to eat.

"..."

"Well it does. That and I don't know your name. I cannot bring myself to call you Abarai-_fuku-taicho_. One, I have no idea what fuku-taicho means and two, I'm an American. We call just about everyone by their first names." I say. He blinks.

"Well then, what's **your** name?"

"Megan Ryan." I answer without thought.

"Your first name is Ryan? That's weird." I pause in chewing a piece of potato to look at _Ananas_.

"Ryan is my last name."

"Then it would be Ryan Megan." I sigh.

"I guess." I shake my head. "Whatever, call me Megan."

"Abarai Renji."

"So your first name is Renji." He nods. "Cool." I look over at the Evil Midget.

"Kuchiki Rukai."

"You and Byakuya are related?"

"Yes, he is my _Nii-sama_." I blink at her then turn to Byakuya.

"Translation please?"

"Brother."

"Ah, ok. Thanks." I turn back to Rukai. "Why didn't you just say brother?" She sighs, returning to her soup.

And then all was quiet. I felt kind of awkward, eating in the silence. When Byakuya and I had eaten the other night, or was it yesterday, we had talked and conversed ignoring the gaping hole and the intrusion. But now, nothing. I stand up to head back to the kitchen for more soup and less awkwardness. Returning to my seat unfortunately did nothing to ease the awkwardness for me. But somehow my attention kept going to Ichigo. On one hand he was a _Shinigami_, on another he seemed human. Suddenly my mind goes over the conversation and then I give Renji a pointed look, willing him to start sweating from it. He looks up at me and flinches slightly.

"What did I do?"

"_Fuku-taicho_, translation now." He sighs, as if he had been expecting me to forget.

"Lieutenant."

"Ok, what does _Taicho_ mean?"

"Captain." I turn to Byakuya with wide eyes.

"Holy shit, you're a Captain?" He nods once and my eyes widen more.

"How the hell did I get stuck with you two?" I bemoan from my couch. It was, somehow, after 10 and I had two unexpected loafers sleeping in my home. Renji looks at Ichigo and shrugs. I whimper. Somehow the two of them were in something called _Gigai_'s, making them appear to the mortal world.

"Kuchiki-_Taicho_ said for us to." Renji responds and I sit up on my elbows to look at him.

"Rhetorical. The remark was rhetorical." I flop back into my laying position, Bast jumping from the recliner to the couch then to my stomach. Absently I begin to pet her. Renji rolls his eyes and Ichigo laughs. Now I'm not really complaining because, let's face it, in two days my apartment has seen more hotties then in a year combined. My train of thought hits the brakes and I sigh. "I really need to get a life."

Both men look over at me surprised and confused. "Hey, Megan, what's with the cat?"

I look at Ichigo who was giving Bast a funny look. "You know what, that's the second time I've caught someone looking at Bast that way. Why?"

"Looks like Yoruichi."

I blink. "What, is that like your cat or something?" Ichigo shakes his head in the negative.

"No, more like an annoyance." I shrug. They were skirting around the answer and, truthfully, I was too lazy at the moment to get the answer. Ichigo looks around the living room from his perch on the window sill to the fire escape.

"Yes, my place is boring. I don't actually get to spend much time here." I say to his unspoken question.

"Why?" Renji asks. I crane my head backwards to see him on the floor by the far side of the coffee table.

"I'm an Archaeologist. I leave for months at a time. In the four years I've rented this apartment, I think in total I've spent maybe 18 months in it." I answer and Renji's eyes widen in surprise. "Normally I'm out in some other country in the middle of nowhere; be it a forest, desert, or in a field, that is miles away from civilization. I kinda enjoy it though. But then again, it is nice when I come home to a place that I understand." Suddenly I hear knocking. I groan, moving Bast off my stomach, and heading to the door. I wave off both men's protests and look in the peep hole. I jump back from surprise and whip the door open.

"MEGGIE!" Sissy yells, launching into a bear hug on me. I gasp, my breath being taken as she tries to crush my ribs.

"H-hi... Sis-Sissy... Nee-need a-air." I struggle out and she releases me with a wide grin. I suck in the air, one hand splayed across my chest. "What are you doing here?" I question when I could finally breath. Looking down I notice her bag she used to stay over and mentally curse myself. I forgot she would be staying for a few days, like she always did when I got home.

"Duh, I'm here to sta..." She pushes past me and stops, frozen, in mid- sentence and step. I close the door and stand beside her, watching her eyes flick between Ichigo and Renji. Again I curse myself in my head. She leans over and whispers softly, "Please tell me one is for me?" in my ear. I feel my cheeks light up in a pink glow.

'Ah hell, what am I going to say?' I think, looking between the two men and my friend. "Uh Sissy, this is Renji and Ichigo," I motion to each by name," and guys this is Sissy, short for Elizabeth. And the answer is no." I say, looking at her with an eyebrow raised. She sighs.

"Damn." Together we both begin to laugh, mainly because neither man knew what we were laughing about and when the two of us are together we act a little dumb. Sissy walks over to the door leading to my room. "Guess we're bunking then?"

"Guess so. Oh, no not wearing pants when walking around." She gives me a thumbs up and opens the door to throw her bag on the bed. I glance at the two and find that while Renji had only a little pink on his face, Ichigo looked like he was going to pass out from shock. Unfortunately, Sissy noticed too.

"Aw, how cute. He's embarrassed." He turns redder, ears flaming brightly. I shake my head, fighting not to laugh. This would be an interesting night. And I knew I wouldn't be getting any sleep because of it.

"Quiet down, I have to work!"

"It's 5 in the morning, Meggie!" I get out of bed and rip open the door.

"Don't call me Meggie!"

"Meggie, Meggie, MeggieMeggieMeggieMeg-"

"ENOUGH!" I roar, stomping over to sit beside Sissy on the couch. Actually I flop over the arm and end up with my head on her leg. I whimper piteously. "I need sleep."

"No you don't." Came the curt reply followed by snickering. I turn my head to face the two sitting across the table on the floor. Renji was trying to hide behind the playing cards in his hands but I could see his shoulders shaking from the effort of not laughing out right. Ichigo had a smile on his face that was quickly replaced by a look of frustration. I look back up at Sissy and see her with a huge, evil smile on her face.

"Give me all cards." I hold out my hand and the two place their cards in it. Sissy groans and eventually does the same. I grab the deck and, after getting into a more comfortable position, I begin to expertly shuffle the deck.

"Killjoy."

"Cheater." I respond, returning the stuck out tongue to her. "What's the game?"

"Poker." I deal, including myself and, taking pity, move over to Ichigo.

"I'm taking Ichigo as my partner. He looks like he needs the help." I look over at his cards and see that he has a fairly good hand. After explaining several times, even whipping out a note pad to help illustrate, found that it was nearing 7. I kept looking at the clock, focusing more on it and less on my hand.

"God, just call in sick. Play hooky for once. This game is too fun to quit now." Sissy says, setting her cards down and pulling her brown hair behind her ears. I sigh.

"I dunno..." I stop and think about it. I hadn't had a day off in... Holy hell, I couldn't remember the last time I had a day off! "I'm calling in sick. Pause game alright, and I need silence." I lay my cards face down and grab my cell phone. I dial in and talk to my head of office, throwing in a cough and sneeze here and there. Ending the call and shutting my phone, I look over and find that all three were looking at me both expectantly and surprised. I blink a few times. "What?"

Sissy grins, her gray-green eyes lighting up. "Nothing, nothing." She then looks at the two men then to me. "Hey, how bout we play strip poker?"

Noticing both turning red, I grin. "To underwear?"

"To underwear."

I return to my spot beside Ichigo, who turns even redder, and grab my cards. "After this hand, of course." After a few hands, it looked like this: Sissy and I were both topless with sports bra's on, of which both men had their cards rather forcefully in front of their eyes and was red in the face. Ichigo had only his pants on, his shirt and socks in a pile beside him. Renji had one sock on, his other, pants, shirt, and towel thingy beside him.

"Royal Flush." I say, laying my cards on the table and the other three groan. They lay their cards face down. "Take 'em off."

Sissy gives me an annoyed look as she removes a sock. "You suck."

"Nah, when you have nothing to do on a rainy day in the middle of nowhere without phones, computers, or internet; ya get good at card games." I retort smiling. Suddenly all four of us yawn at once, afterwards Sissy and I laugh.

"Damn, but we must be tired." She says, standing up and stretching. She holds her hand out to help me up and we grab our clothing. There were already blankets out for the two men and we head back to my room. "Good Night!"

"I think you mean good day."

"Shut up."


	5. Chapter 5

Hours later both Sissy and I drag ourselves out of the room, stiff and creaky, pausing to look at the two men sleeping on the couch and recliner. While Ichigo, who was on the recliner, was sleeping normal; Renji was far from it. He had one leg thrown over the back of the couch, an arm raised and slung over the arm, and the blanket more or less on him. Sissy and I look at one another and shake our heads.

"Coffee?" She whispers, motioning her head to the door. I nod, unwilling to go to the kitchen to make a pot.

"Thank goddess for Starbucks(c)." I whisper back and we turn around to get dressed warmly. Sneaking out was easy, amazingly, and we made our way to my car. It wasn't snowing and the wind barely blew, which I was grateful for. A few blocks later and we found ourselves seated comfortably on a plush couch with steaming cups of coffee in cold hands.

"So, how do you know Renji and Ichigo?" Sissy asks taking a delicate sip of her café latte. I take a swig, burning my tongue in the process, of my café mocha. I lick off the whip cream from my lip, buying time to answer the question.

"You're blocking. Tell me."

No way. She was going psychologist on me? "I hate when you do that to me."

"And I hate when you hide stuff from me." She sighs, turning towards me. "Who are they?"

"They're friends."

"How did you meet them?"

"God! Are you seriously doing this?"

"Yes now answer."

"...I plead the fifth." I respond, taking a drink and looking away to people watch. Right now, I knew more than most souls did and I didn't want to pull my friend in to the mess I had somehow gotten in.

She sighs. "You can't plead the fifth. It's not fair." She takes a sip.

"Hey, you did it to me last time when I asked about What's-His-Name."

"He's gone by the way." I roll my eyes, having expected this. She watches me carefully. "You don't have to protect me. I can take care of myself." I sigh, swiveling my head to face her.

"Please, don't ask me. I really don't want you to." I say and she nods, returning with me to people watch.

Closing the door and slipping off our shoes, we remove our coats and hang them up.

"Oi, where did you two go?" Renji asks, looking over the couch to the door. I roll my eyes and head to the couch to give them the coffee we had bought for them. Handing them to both, they give us funny looks.

"It's just coffee, nothing else. I have sugar and creamer in the kitchen." I say and Ichigo gets up to head in there. "Creamer's in the fridge, sugar in the largest glass jar. Spoons are second drawer next to the oven."

Renji sits up and removes the cap, taking a drink. He stops, looks at the dark liquid, shrugs and takes another drink. I shake my head with a smile. Ichigo returns, stirring the coffee, and sits in the recliner. Sissy heads to the bedroom and I wait till the door closes and the shower starts. I round on the two.

"The hell did you tell her last night!" I hiss quietly, causing both men to choke on the drink they were taking. Sputtering, they turn to me and the glare I was giving them causes them to cringe away.

"A-all we said w-was that we me-met in Japan o-on your dig. Thingy." Ichigo says and I sigh, bowing my head. I take a deep breath and hold it, looking at the ceiling. Releasing the breath, I look at them again.

"Ok, that actually wasn't a bad answer. But, next time, slip me a note or something. She doesn't pay attention half the time so whispering is ok, if we or her are in another room." I say, hoping over the couch and folding myself into the corner. I grab the remote and turn on the TV, changing the channel to Investigation Discovery. "Ooh, _Deadly Women_ is on."

And that's how the next hour went. Sissy got out and then joined us for the last 15 minutes of the show, having me braid her hair. And then there was a knock at the door. I sigh and clamber back over the couch, Sissy grinning because I knew she wouldn't move, and look through the peep hole. My eyes widen.

"Oi, Ichigo. Get your butt over here." He groans but complies. I move over and he looks through then looks at me with wide eyes. His flick between me and the door as another knock thumps against the door.

"What is he doing here?" Ichigo whispers low and harsh. I put a finger to my lips and quietly open the door, splaying my hand on the blue haired wonders chest and pushing forward to forbid him entrance. Ichigo and I slip out into the hall, me closing the door afterwards just as quietly.

"What the hell are you doing here?" I question, removing my hand as Ichigo stands infront of the peep hole and holding the doorknob tightly. Grimmjow grins, looking me up and down and I mentally curse, I had forgotten I was wearing a tight long sleeve shirt. I give him a glare and notice that he no longer had the feline mandible stuck on his face. I took it as him being in a _gigai_ thingy too.

"I was told by the _Shinigami_ that I was to apologize for my actions the other night." I blink. He really didn't seem like the order taking type. "I told them to go fuck off." And I was right.

"Ok, that doesn't answer my question." I place my hands on my hips, raising one eyebrow. Grimmjow's grin turns lewd. My glare darkens. Suddenly he steps back as if surprised, his eyes widening.

"Err.. Ulquiorra said that I had better do it or else I would be spending eternity in the deepest pit of Hueco Mundo." My hands drop to my sides and I blink several times, surprised he answered truthfully. How I knew he was being truthful, I didn't want to think about. I look at Ichigo and see that he looks taken aback, I throw it to the blue haired wonder answering as he did.

"Your eyes are dark silver." He says. My eyes widen.

"Ah hell.." I say looking down to the floor. "This is like the 4th time this has happened."

"It's kinda.. I dunno, creepy I guess."

"Shyeah, tell me about it." I look at Grimmjow. "Crap; if he comes in, I'll never be able to explain him..." Grimmjow gives me a half-way dirty look. "Ah forget it. Go in but know that if you break something, I'll be finding a way to break something on you. Also, don't answer anything Sissy asks." I jab Grimmjow in the chest, giving him my best glare. He nods with a lewd grin. I roll my eyes and turn around to head back in.

"I don't think this is a good idea." Ichigo says, blocking my way. He crosses his arms over his chest and glares angrily over my head, which was easy for him, at Grimmjow. I sigh. "And, your eyes are back to normal. Somehow." I take in the last bit but ignore otherwise.

"My place, my rules, my decision. Deal." And I push past him, opening the door to go in. I hear Ichigo groan and shove Grimmjow. I turn around. "Oi, behave. Either of you break, I break." I turn back around and hop over the couch to return to my previous position. Sissy had move to the other end of the couch, still on the floor, and looks up. Her eyes widen when she sees Grimmjow sit infront of me on the floor. I roll my eyes, practically able to see the drool pooling on my floors. "Sissy, Grim; Grim, Sissy. I also met him in Japan at the dig. Also, don't forget the fifth. And stop drooling." I say, deciding that acting like he went by his last name was the best bet.

"Mine?"

"No."

Great, now I had three loafers. And the one day off I take, I stay in. Now it wasn't so bad besides somehow we got into playing poker (again) eating the snacks I had managed to buy, then strip poker (again), then somehow Sissy and I got into an argument and began to wrestle in our bra's and underwear with Renji and Grimmjow happily whistling and hollering. Ichigo looked like he was about pass out from shock. Eventually, much to Renji and Grimmjow's annoyance, we stopped; laughing loudly in a tangled pile on the floor.

"Credo che possiamo prendere loro?" {1}

"Si. Ricevo rosso, ottenete blu." {2} We grin at one another, looking at the two before launching ourselves at them in a tackle. Both land with an 'oomph', and we sit on their stomachs laughing our heads off like we belong in a loony bin. After a few minutes and we'd calmed down I look at Sissy. "I know it's not really that late but somehow I'm dead tired."

"Me too." We stand up, giggling, and head to my room.

"Oi, where's **he** supposed to sleep?" We pause, turning around to see Renji pointing at Grimmjow. Sissy and I look at one another. I shrug.

"I still got the cot."

{1} Think we can take them?

{2} Yeah. I get red, you get blue.


End file.
